St. Elmo & Cover Reveal!

I'm just going to have to apologize in advance for the kazillion photos on the rest of this post, but I finally got to go up to St. Elmo, a ghost town in the Colorado mountains that's one of the most preserved ghost towns in the U.S. In fact, it's so well preserved that some of the houses are still inhabited, and those inhabitants not only run a general store, but lovingly preserve the empty houses. I'm not going to lie, there's a part of me that would absolutely adore living in one of those houses. I'm a sucker for a ghost town and, basically, anything having to do with the old west.

St. Elmo was a mining town (gold and silver), founded in 1880. The railroad went up to it, and the population boomed to about 2000 at one point. The tracks were abandoned in 1922, and the last family (the Starks) left in 1958. I'm not sure when people started moving back in. You can take snowmobiles up to an even higher, older, less preserved town called Tin Cup in the winter, and take a 4WD vehicle up in summer. We didn't get to do that this time, but what I REALLY want is to go up there in the fall to get photos of St. Elmo with the aspens golden around the houses, and I'd like to take the Jeep up to Tin Cup, as well.

Before I post the bazillion photos of St. Elmo, I need to let you know that my second collection, Bruised Souls & Other Torments, is up for pre-order (Kindle) at Amazon, and will be be available in e-book and paperback this Friday, the 13th! Click on the title above to pre-order the e-book!

Fear resides in the soul.

A welcoming widow with a twisted appetite; a war-time evil lurking behind the face of a child; a father’s love gone horribly wrong; a deadly government solution; a new job with a demonic pay scale; a woman trapped in a mysterious house with no memory of who she is or how she got there. These are a mere glimpse of the terrors that lie in wait in this collection of horror short stories, sure to grip the psyche and torment the soul.

If you'd like to help spread the word, I'm holding a blog hop Friday the 13th for a little creepy fun. The sign up form and information can be found at the bottom of this post.

Finally, I was interviewed by the Functional Nerds (well, one of them, who is also a good friend). You can listen to the interview HERE.

Okay, back to the photos. One of the things that I found interesting was how deep the snow was. Of course, a snow plow goes through there now, but when you look at these photos, imagine what it would have been like before snow plows, to be up on top of this mountain with snow halfway up the doors, and have to get out to hit the store. Note that I also made sure to post a picture that included an outhouse. Pretty sure they were using chamber pots in the winter, because no way would I have wanted to walk through four feet of snow to go to the bathroom, especially in the middle of the night.

Also mind blowing is the fact that some of these houses are inhabited. You'll notice which ones are updated with paint, outdoor furniture, and that sort of thing (one of the houses has a satellite dish--I don't believe I got a picture of that).

Part way through our time in St. Elmo it started to snow. It was so peaceful up there, even with a couple other tourists wandering around. A hush existed over everything. I could imagine the quiet of snow season up there. Then again, I could also imagine the cabin fever and other issues associated with heavy snowfall and having your access cut off from everywhere else.

Have you visited any neat ghost towns? Does your area have broken down homesteads scattered about? Will you be joining me on the blog hop? (Thank you to those who have signed up already!)

May you find your Muse.

Georgetown Ghost Town Writing Retreat, pt 1

This weekend I attended the Georgetown Ghost Town Writer's Retreat. Georgetown is a small town that grew up around silver mining in the Rockies. Unlike some of the old gold mining towns that have become run down or are known more for gambling than history, Georgetown is well cared for and bustling with tourism.

The retreat was pleasant, but I actually only attended two workshops and a movie night (Dead Awake), where the director was present to do a Q&A afterward. Aside from that, I spent the weekend editing in my room, wandering around playing tourist, and hanging out with fellow writers.

I thought it would be fun to post some of the over five-hundred photos I took while I was up there. Today, I'm focusing on the houses and buildings in town. Next week, I'll post photos from the cemetery, train ride, and mine tour.

Before I jump into the photos, I have a couple pieces of news. First, I'll be presenting a two-hour workshop on short stories this Saturday for Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group. More information can be found under the "appearances" tab. I always love talking short stories, and especially hearing afterward from people who have begun trying their hand at it!

Second, I placed a flash fiction piece this week. Yay! It will be published in October. More information can be found under the "publications" tab.

Third, today's my anniversary! 21 years! Happy Anniversary to my hubby.

All right, photo time. There were a ton of neat houses and buildings from the 1800s, mixed in with some newer buildings. Those buildings on the historical register had plaques or small round signs with the years they were built, including homes people still lived in. It was easy to get lost in history wandering around. As a wild west buff, I even got my share of cool downtown buildings that looked like something straight out of the wild west.

This first house was falling apart. It was nestled between several well kept houses, but this one's yard was overgrown, the porch sagging, and some of the siding peeling off. It looked like someone had loved it once, but maybe they passed away with no one to leave it to, after years of not being able to maintain the property.

The flowers that had sprung up in the overgrown yard were purple, white, and yellow, mixed in with the brown leaves of downed branches, and the faded green of various weeds.

Below was one of the well maintained houses. I'm not sure what year was on the historical marker. There was metal work along the eaves that looked like it dissuade any smart bird from landing there. It looked like the tops of wrought iron gates.

There was an old Presbyterian church with gorgeous stone siding and antique fixtures. It was built in 1874 of native stone.

Below are some random photos from around downtown. 

It was a perfect mix of old and new, well preserved and crumbling. The townspeople (and those working there from surrounding mountain communities) were proud of the town, and eager to share stories of hauntings and history with the hundred or so authors who descended on the town. There were a lot of things I didn't get to do, like tour the electricity museum that included Tesla's involvement, or visit one of the historic houses to tour its hallways and hear about its ghosts. I plan to go back up with my family and visit everything I missed.

Next week, gravestones, silver mines, and locomotives!

Now for links. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking personal stories with the theme "Miracles and More" and "Stories of Redemption." 1200 words or less. Nonfiction only. Pays $200. Deadline August 31.

Silver Empire is seeking stories in any genre with the theme "Stairs in the Woods." Must be about a random detached set of stairs. 3000 to 20,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline August 31.

Digital Fiction Publishing Corp is seeking horror reprint short stories that appeared in professional or semi-professional short story publications. 3500 to 7500 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline August 31.

Spider is seeking submissions of children's stories with the theme "Spaceships and Superheroes." Fiction, activities, poetry, recipes, etc. Geared toward ages 6-9. 300 to 1000 words. Pays up to $.25/word. Deadline August 31.

Twelfth Planet Press is seeking short stories about "gender as it relates to the creation of artificial intelligence and robotics" for the anthology "Mother of Invention." 500 to 5000 words. Deadline August 31.

Goblin Fruit is seeking fantastical poetry. Pays $15. Deadline September 1.

Red Ferret Press is seeking BDSM short stories for the anthology "Knotted." Up to 10,000 words. Pays 1/2 cent per word. Deadline September 1.

Independent Legions Publishing is seeking short stories about death by water for the anthology "The Beauty of Death 2: Death by Water." 4000 to 5000 words. Pays $100. Deadline September 1.

Mofo Pubs is seeking apocalyptic erotica short stories for the anthology "Apocalypse." 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline September 5.

Fantasia Divinity Magazine is seeking short stories about mythological creatures for the anthology "Menagerie de Mythique." 500 to 10,500. Pays 1/2 cent per word. Deadline September 5.

Ever visited a ghost town? How about one that was still thriving? Any neat towns you love to wander through and/or photograph? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

May you find your Muse.